Method of transmitting and receiving power and electronic device using the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic device comprising: a battery having a plurality of cells that are connected in series; a circuit electrically connected to the battery; and a conductive pattern electrically connected to the circuit, wherein the circuit is configured to: receive a first signal wirelessly from a first external device by using the conductive pattern, charge at least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by using a power of the first signal, generate a second signal by changing a first voltage, that is produced by at least two of the plurality of cells in the battery, into a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage, and wirelessly transmit the second signal to a second external device, the second signal being transmitted by using the conductive pattern.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/138,316 filed on Apr. 26, 2016 which claims the priority under 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to Korean Application Serial No. 10-2015-0096082, whichwas filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 6, 2015,the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus andmethod for transmitting and receiving power in an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Portable electronic devices, such as portable terminals, tabletcomputers, smartphones, etc., may use rechargeable batteries as powersupply units in order to provide a mobility thereof. Accordingly, usersof the portable electronic devices can more conveniently use theelectronic devices beyond a wired environment for power supply to theelectronic devices.

When the residual quantities of the batteries are insufficient, theportable electronic devices may recharge the batteries using externalpower supply devices. For example, the users of the portable electronicdevices may recharge the batteries of the portable electronic devices byusing auxiliary battery (power bank) devices.

SUMMARY

The auxiliary battery devices may recharge batteries thereof throughexternal power that is received in a wired or wireless manner. Theauxiliary battery devices may supply the battery power thereof to theportable electronic devices through wired connection with the portableelectronic devices. The users have to connect the auxiliary batterydevices and the portable electronic devices through a cable in order torecharge the batteries of the portable electronic devices by using theauxiliary battery devices.

The portable electronic devices may recharge the batteries thereofthrough the external power that is received in a wireless or wiredmanner. Likewise to the auxiliary battery devices, the portableelectronic devices may provide auxiliary battery functions of supplyingthe battery power thereof to external devices. In this case, theportable electronic devices may supply the battery power thereof to theexternal devices through wired connection with the external devices. Forexample, the portable electronic devices may supply the battery powerthereof to the external devices by using Universal Serial Bus On-The-Go(USB OTG). The users have to connect the portable electronic devices andthe external devices, which are to be supplied with the power, throughcables in order to use the auxiliary battery functions of the portableelectronic devices.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a device andmethod for supplying power to an external device by a portableelectronic device in wireless and wired manners.

According to aspects of the disclosure, an electronic device is providedcomprising: a battery having a plurality of cells that are connected inseries; a circuit electrically connected to the battery; and aconductive pattern electrically connected to the circuit, wherein thecircuit is configured to: receive a first signal wirelessly from a firstexternal device by using the conductive pattern, charge at least some ofthe plurality of cells in the battery by using a power of the firstsignal, generate a second signal by changing a first voltage, that isproduced by at least two of the plurality of cells in the battery, intoa second voltage that is lower than the first voltage, and wirelesslytransmit the second signal to a second external device, the secondsignal being transmitted by using the conductive pattern.

According to aspects of the disclosure, an electronic device is providedcomprising: a battery including a plurality of cells that are connectedin series; and a circuit electrically connected to the battery, whereinthe circuit is configured to: receive a first signal from a firstexternal device, the first signal being received over one of a wiredchannel and a wireless channel, charge at least some of the plurality ofcells in the battery by using a power of the first signal, generate asecond signal by using at least two of the plurality of cells in thebattery, and transmit the second signal to a second external device.

According to aspects of the disclosure, a method for use in anelectronic device is provided, comprising: receiving a first signal froma first external device, the first signal being received over a wirelesschannel; charging at least some of a plurality of cells in a battery ofthe electronic device by using a power of the first signal; generating asecond signal by changing a first voltage that is generated by at leasttwo of the plurality of cells in the battery into a second voltage thatis lower than the first voltage; and wirelessly transmitting the secondsignal to a second external device.

According to aspects of the disclosure, a method for use in anelectronic device is provided, comprising: receiving a first signal froma first external device, wherein the first signal is received over oneof a wired channel or a wireless channel; charging at least some of aplurality of cells in a battery of the electronic device by using apower of the first signal; generating a second signal by using at leasttwo of the plurality of cells in the battery; and transmitting thesecond signal to a second external device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a network environment, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an electronic device,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a program module, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A is a diagram of an example of a user interface, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a diagram of an example of a user interface, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14B is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 29 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 30 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, specific details such as detailed configuration andcomponents are merely provided to assist the overall understanding ofthese embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should beapparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications of the embodiments described herein can be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Inaddition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions areomitted for clarity and conciseness.

The present disclosure may have various embodiments, and modificationsand changes may be made therein. Therefore, the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to particular embodiments shown inthe accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that thepresent disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments, butincludes all modifications/changes, equivalents, and/or alternativesfalling within the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure. Indescribing the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used todesignate similar elements.

The terms “have”, “may have”, “include”, or “may include” used in thevarious embodiments of the present disclosure indicate the presence ofdisclosed corresponding functions, operations, elements, and the like,and do not limit additional one or more functions, operations, elements,and the like. In addition, it should be understood that the terms“include” or “have” used in the various embodiments of the presentdisclosure are to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps,operations, elements, parts, or a combination thereof described in thespecifications, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or acombination thereof.

The terms “A or B”, “at least one of A or/and B” or “one or more of Aor/and B” used in the various embodiments of the present disclosureinclude any and all combinations of words enumerated with it. Forexample, “A or B”, “at least one of A and B” or “at least one of A or B”means (1) including at least one A, (2) including at least one B, or (3)including both at least one A and at least one B.

Although the term such as “first” and “second” used in variousembodiments of the present disclosure may modify various elements ofvarious embodiments, these terms do not limit the correspondingelements. For example, these terms do not limit an order and/orimportance of the corresponding elements. These terms may be used forthe purpose of distinguishing one element from another element. Forexample, a first user device and a second user device all indicate userdevices and may indicate different user devices. For example, a firstelement may be named a second element without departing from the scopeof right of various embodiments of the present disclosure, andsimilarly, a second element may be named a first element.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., first element) is“connected to” or “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” toanother element (e.g., second element), the element may be directlyconnected or coupled to another element, and there may be an interveningelement (e.g., third element) between the element and another element.To the contrary, it will be understood that when an element (e.g., firstelement) is “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to anotherelement (e.g., second element), there is no intervening element (e.g.,third element) between the element and another element.

The expression “configured to (or set to)” used in various embodimentsof the present disclosure may be replaced with “suitable for”, “havingthe capacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”, or “capableof” according to a situation. The term “configured to (set to)” does notnecessarily mean “specifically designed to” in a hardware level.Instead, the expression “apparatus configured to . . . ” may mean thatthe apparatus is “capable of . . . ” along with other devices or partsin a certain situation. For example, “a processor configured to (set to)perform A, B, and C” may be a dedicated processor, e.g., an embeddedprocessor, for performing a corresponding operation, or ageneric-purpose processor, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or anapplication processor (AP), capable of performing a correspondingoperation by executing one or more software programs stored in a memorydevice.

The terms as used herein are used merely to describe certain embodimentsand are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein,singular forms may include plural forms as well unless the contextexplicitly indicates otherwise. Further, all the terms used herein,including technical and scientific terms, should be interpreted to havethe same meanings as commonly understood by those skilled in the art towhich the present disclosure pertains, and should not be interpreted tohave ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined invarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be a device. For example, the electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure may include at leastone of: a smart phone; a tablet personal computer (PC); a mobile phone;a video phone; an e-book reader; a desktop PC; a laptop PC; a netbookcomputer; a workstation, a server, a personal digital assistant (PDA); aportable multimedia player (PMP); an MP3 player; a mobile medicaldevice; a camera; a power bank; or a wearable device (e.g., ahead-mount-device (HMD), an electronic glasses, an electronic clothing,an electronic bracelet, an electronic necklace, an electronicappcessory, an electronic tattoo, a smart mirror, or a smart watch).

In other embodiments, an electronic device may include at least one of:a medical equipment (e.g., a mobile medical device (e.g., a bloodglucose monitoring device, a heart rate monitor, a blood pressuremonitoring device or a temperature meter)); a navigation device; aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver; an event data recorder (EDR);a flight data recorder (FDR); an in-vehicle infotainment device; anelectronic equipment for a ship (e.g., ship navigation equipment and/ora gyrocompass); an avionics equipment; a security equipment; a head unitfor vehicle; an industrial or home robot; an automatic teller's machine(ATM) of a financial institution, point of sale (POS) device at a retailstore, or an internet of things device (e.g., a Lightbulb, varioussensors, an electronic meter, a gas meter, a sprinkler, a fire alarm, athermostat, a streetlamp, a toaster, a sporting equipment, a hot-watertank, a heater, or a boiler and the like)

Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that anelectronic device according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned devices.

Herein, the term “user” may indicate a person who uses an electronicdevice or a device (e.g., an artificial intelligence electronic device)that uses the electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a network environment, according tovarious embodiments.

The electronic device 101 in the network environment 100, according tothe various embodiments, will be described below with reference toFIG. 1. The electronic device 101 may include a bus 110, a processor120, a memory 130, an input/output interface 150, a display 160, acommunication interface 170, a power management module 180 and a sensor190. In an embodiment, at least one of the elements of the electronicdevice 101 may be omitted, or other elements may be additionallyincluded in the electronic device 101.

The bus 110 may include, for example, a circuit that interconnects theelements 110 to 170 and transfers communication (e.g., a control messageand/or data) between the elements.

The processor 120 may include any suitable type of processing circuitry,such as one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., ARM-basedprocessors), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Programmable LogicDevice (PLD), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), etc. Additionally oralternatively, the processor 120 may include one or more of a centralprocessing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), and acommunication processor (CP). The processor 120 may, for example,perform an operation or data processing on control and/or communicationof at least one other element of the electronic device 101.

According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may control to charge thebattery 190. The processor 120 may control to discharge the battery 190.

According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may control to open andshort-circuit a battery charging path and a battery discharging path inorder to correspond to a charging mode of the battery 190. For example,the processor 120 may control switches that are included in the batterycharging path and the battery discharging path, respectively, in orderto correspond to the charging mode of the battery 190. Here, the batterycharging path may include a wired charging path and a wireless chargingpath. The battery discharging path may include a wireless dischargingpath, a wired discharging path, and at least one wired power supplypath. The wired power supply path may include a path for directlysupplying external power, which the electronic device has receivedthrough a wired connection, to an external device.

According to an embodiment, the processor 120 may control to dischargeelectricity from the battery 190 to a plurality of external devices. Forexample, the processor 120 may adjust the amount of power to be suppliedto each external device in order to correspond to a charging variable ofthe external device. Here, the charging variable of the external devicemay include a condition for completely charging the battery of theexternal device. For example, the charging variable of the externaldevice may include at least one of the battery capacity (the wholebattery capacity) of the external device, the battery residual quantityof the external device, information on the connection with the externaldevice, and the operating state of the external device. The informationon the connection with the external device may include wired or wirelesscharging, rapid or normal charging, etc. The operating state of theexternal device may include the number or types of applications that arebeing executed in the external device. Additionally, the chargingvariable of the external device may further include battery chargingcompletion time information. The battery charging completion timeinformation may include time required for fully charging the battery ofthe external device, or time required by a user to charge the battery toa preset battery level. The battery charging completion time informationmay be set automatically or based on the user's setting information(e.g., charging time, an amount of charging, a priority, etc.).

The memory 130 may include any suitable type of volatile or non-volatilememory, such as Random-access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM),Network Accessible Storage (NAS), cloud storage, a Solid State Drive(SSD), etc. The memory 130 may store, for example, instructions or datarelevant to at least one other element of the electronic device 101.According to an embodiment, the memory 130 may store software and/or aprogram 140. For example, the program may include a kernel 141,middleware 143, an application programming interface (API) 145, and anapplication (or “application program”) 147. At least some of the kernel141, the middleware 143, and the API 145 may be referred to as anOperating System (OS).

The kernel 141 may control or manage system resources (e.g., the bus110, the processor 120, or the memory 130) used for performing anoperation or function implemented by the other programs (e.g., themiddleware 143, the API 145, or the application 147). Furthermore, thekernel 141 may provide an interface through which the middleware 143,the API 145, or the application 147 may access the individual elementsof the electronic device 101 to control or manage the system resources.

The middleware 143, for example, may function as an intermediary forallowing the API 145 or the application 147 to communicate with thekernel 141 to exchange data.

In addition, the middleware 143 may process one or more task requestsreceived from the application 147 according to priorities thereof. Forexample, the middleware 143 may assign priorities for using the systemresources (e.g., the bus 110, the processor 120, the memory 130, or thelike) of the electronic device 101, to at least one of the application147. For example, the middleware 143 may perform scheduling or loadingbalancing on the one or more task requests by processing the one or moretask requests according to the priorities assigned thereto.

The API 145 is an interface through which the applications 147 controlfunctions provided from the kernel 141 or the middleware 143, and mayinclude, for example, at least one interface or function (e.g.,instruction) for file control, window control, image processing, or textcontrol.

The input/output interface 150 (e.g., including input/output circuitry),for example, may function as an interface that may transfer instructionsor data input from a user or another external device to the otherelement(s) of the electronic device 101. Furthermore, the input/outputinterface 150 may output the instructions or data received from theother element(s) of the electronic device 101 to the user or anotherexternal device.

The display 160 (e.g., including display circuitry), for example, mayinclude a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Light-Emitting Diode (LED)display, an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display, aMicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) display, and an electronic paperdisplay. The display 160, for example, may display various types ofcontent (e.g., text, images, videos, icons, or symbols) to the user. Thedisplay 160 may include a touch screen and receive, for example, atouch, gesture, proximity, or hovering input using an electronic pen orthe user's body part.

The communication interface 170 (e.g., including communicationcircuitry), for example, may set communication between the electronicdevice 101 and an external device (e.g., the first external electronicdevice 102, the second external electronic device 104, or a server 106).For example, the communication interface 170 may be connected to anetwork 162 through wireless or wired communication to communicate withthe external device (e.g., the second external electronic device 104 orthe server 106).

The wireless communication may use at least one of, for example, LongTerm Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advance (LTE-A), Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), WiBro (Wireless Broadband), and Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), as a cellular communication protocol. In addition,the wireless communication may include, for example, short-rangecommunication 164. The short-range communication 164 may be performed byusing at least one of, for example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). TheGNSS may include at least one of, for example, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS), a Global navigation satellite system (Glonass), a Beidounavigation satellite system (hereinafter, referred to as “Beidou”), andGalileo (European global satellite-based navigation system).Hereinafter, in the present disclosure, the “GPS” may be interchangeablyused with the “GNSS”. The wired communication may include at least oneof, for example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), a High DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI), Recommended Standard-232 (RS-232), and aPlain Old Telephone Service (POTS). The network 162 may include at leastone of a communication network such as a computer network (e.g., a LANor a WAN), the Internet, and a telephone network.

Each of the first and second external electronic devices 102 and 104 maybe of a type identical to or different from that of the electronicdevice 101. According to an embodiment, the server 106 may include agroup of one or more servers. According to various embodiments, all orsome of the operations performed in the electronic device 101 may beperformed in another electronic device or a plurality of electronicdevices (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104 or the server 106).According to an embodiment, when the electronic device 101 has toperform some functions or services automatically or in response to arequest, the electronic device 101 may make a request for performing atleast some functions relating thereto to another device (e.g., theelectronic device 102 or 104 or the server 106) instead of performingthe functions or services by itself or in addition. Another electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 102 or 104 or the server 106) mayexecute the requested functions or the additional functions, and maydeliver a result of the execution to the electronic device 101. Theelectronic device 101 may process the received result as it is oradditionally to provide the requested functions or services. To achievethis, for example, cloud computing, distributed computing, orclient-server computing technology may be used.

The power management module 180 (e.g., including power managementcircuitry) may control the charging and discharging of the battery 190.According to an embodiment, the power management module 180 may includea Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) or a charger IntegratedCircuit (IC).

According to an embodiment, the power management module 180 may receivepower from the outside in a wired and/or wireless manner. For example,the power management module 180 may receive power from the outsidethrough a wireless charging method, such as a magnetic resonance type, amagnetic induction type, an electromagnetic wave type, etc. The powermanagement module 180 may further include a coil loop, a resonancecircuit, a rectifier, or the like, which is an additional circuit forreceiving power in a wireless manner. According to an embodiment, thepower management module 180 may include a coil loop and/or a resonancecircuit to supply power in a wireless manner.

According to an embodiment, the battery 190 may supply power to theelectronic device 101 or an external device through the power managementmodule 180. For example, the battery 190 may include a plurality ofcells, and may supply power to an external device by connecting at leasttwo cells in series. The battery 190 may additionally include a powersupply control circuit that adjusts an amount of power to be supplied toeach cell on the basis of the amount of charge of the cell when at leasttwo cells are connected in series in order to discharge the battery. Forexample, the battery 190 may supply power to an external device byselectively connecting at least two cells in series or in parallel onthe basis of a charging variable of the external device.

According to an embodiment, the battery 190 may be charged with externalpower that is supplied through the power management module 180. Forexample, the battery 190 may include a plurality of cells, and may becharged with external power while at least two cells are connected inparallel. The battery 190 may additionally include a charging controlcircuit that adjusts an amount of electricity to be charged in each cellon the basis of the amount of charge of the cell when at least two cellsare connected in parallel in order to charge the battery.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when theelectronic device 101 is an auxiliary battery device, the electronicdevice 101 may not include at least one of the program module 140, thedisplay 160, and the communication interface 170.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic device 201, according tovarious embodiments. The electronic device 201 may include, for example,all or a part of the electronic device 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theelectronic device 201 may include at least one application processor(AP) 210, a communication module 220, a subscriber identification module(SIM) card 224, a memory 230, a sensor module 240, an input device 250,a display 260, an interface 270, an audio module 280, a camera module291, a power management module 295, a battery 296, an indicator 297, anda motor 298.

The AP 210 may, for example, control a plurality of hardware or softwareelements connected thereto and perform a variety of data processing andcalculations by driving an operating system or application programs. TheAP 210 may be implemented as, for example, a system on chip (SoC).According to an embodiment, the AP 210 may further include a graphicprocessing unit (GPU) and/or an image signal processor. The AP 210 mayinclude at least some of the elements (e.g., a cellular module 221)illustrated in FIG. 2. The AP 210 may load commands or data, receivedfrom at least one other element (e.g., a non-volatile memory), in avolatile memory to process the loaded commands or data, and may storevarious types of data in the non-volatile memory.

The communication module 220 may have a configuration that is the sameas or similar to that of the communication interface 160 of FIG. 1. Thecommunication module 220 may include, for example, a cellular module221, a Wi-Fi module 223, a BT module 225, a GPS module 227, an NFCmodule 228, and a radio frequency (RF) module 229. The communicationmodule 220 provides a function of transmitting/receiving a signal.Accordingly, the communication module 220 may be referred to as a“reception unit”, a “transmission unit”, a “transmission and receptionunit”, a “communication unit”, or the like.

The cellular module 221 may provide, for example, a voice call, a videocall, a text message service, or an Internet service through acommunication network.

According to an embodiment, the cellular module 221 may distinguish andauthenticate the electronic device 201 in the communication network byusing a subscriber identification module (e.g., the SIM card 224).According to an embodiment, the cellular module 221 may perform at leastsome of the functions that the AP 210 may provide. According to anembodiment, the cellular module 221 may include a communicationprocessor (CP).

The Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227, or the NFCmodule 228 may include, for example, a processor for processing datatransmitted/received through the corresponding module. According to anembodiment, at least some (e.g., two or more) of the cellular module221, the Wi-Fi module 223, the BT module 225, the GPS module 227, andthe NFC module 228 may be included in a single integrated chip (IC) orIC package.

The RF module 229 may, for example, transmit/receive a communicationsignal (e.g., an RF signal). The RF module 229 may include, for example,a transceiver, a power amp module (PAM), a frequency filter, a low noiseamplifier (LNA), or an antenna. According to another embodiment, atleast one of the cellular module 221, the Wi-Fi module 223, the BTmodule 225, the GPS module 227, and the NFC module 228 maytransmit/receive an RF signal through a separate RF module.

The SIM card 224 may include, for example, a card including a subscriberidentification module and/or an embedded SIM, and may further includeunique identification information (e.g., an integrated circuit cardidentifier (ICCID)) or subscriber information (e.g., internationalmobile subscriber identity (IMSI)).

The memory 230 may include, for example, an internal memory 232 or anexternal memory 234. The internal memory 232 may include, for example,at least one of a volatile memory (e.g., a dynamic random access memory(DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), or thelike) and a non-volatile memory (e.g., a one-time programmable read onlymemory (OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable and programmableROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), amask ROM, a flash ROM, a flash memory (e.g., a NAND flash memory or aNOR flash memory), a hard disc drive, or a solid-state drive (SSD)).

The external memory 234 may further include a flash drive, for example,a compact flash (CF), a secure digital (SD), a micro secure digital(Micro-SD), a mini secure digital (Mini-SD), an extreme digital (xD), amemory stick, or the like. The external memory 234 may be functionallyand/or physically connected to the electronic device 201 through variousinterfaces.

The sensor module 240 may, for example, measure a physical quantity ordetect an operating state of the electronic device 201, and may convertthe measured or detected information into an electrical signal. Thesensor module 240 may include, for example, at least one of, a gesturesensor 240A, a gyro sensor 240B, an atmospheric pressure sensor 240C, amagnetic sensor 240D, an acceleration sensor 240E, a grip sensor 240F, aproximity sensor 240G, a color sensor 240H (e.g., red, green, and blue(RGB) sensor), a bio-sensor 240I, a temperature/humidity sensor 240J, anillumination sensor 240K, and an ultraviolet (UV) sensor 240M.Additionally or alternatively, the sensor module 240 may include anE-nose sensor, an electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electroencephalogram(EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, an infrared (IR)sensor, an iris sensor, and/or a fingerprint sensor. The sensor module240 may further include a control circuit for controlling one or moresensors included therein. In an embodiment, the electronic device 201may further include a processor that is configured as a part of the AP210 or a separate element from the AP 210 in order to control the sensormodule 240, thereby controlling the sensor module 240 while the AP 2710is in a sleep state.

The input device 250 may include, for example, a touch panel 252, a(digital) pen sensor 254, a key 256, or an ultrasonic input device 258.The touch panel 252 may use at least one of, for example, a capacitivetype, a resistive type, an infrared type, and an ultrasonic type. Inaddition, the touch panel 252 may further include a control circuit. Thetouch panel 252 may further include a tactile layer to provide a tactilereaction to a user.

The (digital) pen sensor 254 may be, for example, a part of the touchpanel, or may include a separate recognition sheet. The key 256 mayinclude, for example, a physical button, an optical key, or a keypad.The ultrasonic input device 258 may identify data by detecting acousticwaves with a microphone (e.g., a microphone 288) of the electronicdevice 201 through an input unit for generating an ultrasonic signal.

The display 260 (e.g., the display 160) may include a panel 262, ahologram device 264, or a projector 266. The panel 262 may include aconfiguration that is the same as or similar to that of the display 160of FIG. 1. The panel 262 may be implemented to be, for example,flexible, transparent, or wearable. The panel 262 may be configured as asingle module integrated with the touch panel 252. The hologram device264 may show a stereoscopic image in the air using interference oflight. The projector 266 may project light onto a screen to display animage. The screen may be located, for example, in the interior of or onthe exterior of the electronic device 201. According to an embodiment,the display 260 may further include a control circuit for controllingthe panel 262, the hologram device 264, or the projector 266.

The interface 270 may include, for example, a high-definition multimediainterface (HDMI) 272, a universal serial bus (USB) 274, an opticalinterface 276, or a D-subminiature (D-sub) 278. The interface 270 may beincluded in, for example, the communication interface 160 illustrated inFIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 270 may include,for example, a mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface, a securedigital (SD) card/multi-media card (MMC) interface, or an infrared dataassociation (IrDA) standard interface.

The audio module 280 may, for example, convert a sound into anelectrical signal, and vice versa. At least some elements of the audiomodule 280 may be included in, for example, the input/output interface140 illustrated in FIG. 1. The audio module 280 may, for example,process sound information that is input or output through the speaker282, the receiver 284, the earphones 286, the microphone 288, or thelike.

The camera module 291 may be, for example, a device that can take astill image or a moving image, and according to an embodiment, thecamera module 291 may include one or more image sensors (e.g., a frontsensor or a rear sensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or aflash (e.g., an LED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 295 (e.g., the power management module 180)may manage, for example, the power of the electronic device 201.According to an embodiment, the power management module 295 may includea Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC), a charger IntegratedCircuit (IC), or a battery or fuel gauge. The power management module295 may receive power from the outside in a wired and/or wirelessmanner. For example, the power management module 295 may receive powerfrom the outside through a wireless charging method, such as a magneticresonance type, a magnetic induction type, an electromagnetic wave type,etc. The power management module 295 may further include a coil loop, aresonance circuit, a rectifier, or the like, which is an additionalcircuit for receiving power in a wireless manner. The battery gauge maymeasure, for example, the residual quantity of the battery 296, and avoltage, a current, or a temperature while charging.

The battery 296 (e.g., the battery 190) may include, for example, arechargeable battery and/or a solar battery. According to an embodiment,the battery 296 may include a plurality of cells that can be connectedin series or in parallel.

The indicator 297 may indicate a specific state of the electronic device201 or a part thereof (e.g., the AP 210), for example, a booting state,a message state, a charging state, or the like. The motor 298 mayconvert an electrical signal into a mechanical vibration, and maygenerate a vibration or haptic effect. Although not illustrated, theelectronic device 201 may include a processing unit (e.g., a GPU) formobile TV support. The processing device for mobile TV support may, forexample, process media data according to a standard of digitalmultimedia broadcasting (DMB), digital video broadcasting (DVB), mediaflow, or the like.

Each of the components of the electronic device according to the presentdisclosure may be implemented by one or more components and the name ofthe corresponding component may vary depending on a type of theelectronic device. In various embodiments, the electronic device mayinclude at least one of the above-described elements. Some of theabove-described elements may be omitted from the electronic device, orthe electronic device may further include additional elements. Further,some of the elements of the electronic device according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be coupled to form a singleentity while performing the same functions as those of the correspondingelements before the coupling.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a program module 310, according to variousembodiments. According to an embodiment, the program module 310 (e.g.,the program 140) may include an operating system (OS) that controlsresources relating to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device101) and/or various applications (e.g., the application 147) executed inthe operating system. The operating system may be, for example, Android,iOS™, Windows™, Symbian™, Tizen™, Bada™, or the like.

The programming module 310 may include a kernel 320, middleware 330, anapplication programming interface (API) 360, and/or applications 370. Atleast some of the program module 310 may be preloaded in the electronicdevice, or may be downloaded from a server (e.g., the server 106).

The kernel 320 (e.g., the kernel 141 of FIG. 1) may include, forexample, a system resource manager 321 or a device driver 323. Thesystem resource manager 321 may control, allocate, or collect systemresources. According to an embodiment, the system resource manager 321may include a process management unit, a memory management unit, or afile system management unit. The device driver 323 may include, forexample, a display driver, a camera driver, a Bluetooth driver, ashared-memory driver, a USB driver, a keypad driver, a Wi-Fi driver, anaudio driver, or an inter-process communication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 330 may provide a function required by the applications370 in common, or may provide various functions to the applications 370through the API 360 to enable the applications 370 to efficiently uselimited system resources in the electronic device. According to anembodiment, the middleware 330 (e.g., the middleware 143) may include atleast one of a run time library 335, an application manager 341, awindow manager 342, a multimedia manager 343, a resource manager 344, apower manager 345, a database manager 346, a package manager 347, aconnectivity manager 348, a notification manager 349, a location manager350, a graphic manager 351, and a security manager 352.

The runtime library 335 may include, for example, a library module usedby a compiler in order to add a new function through a programminglanguage during the execution of the applications 370. The run timelibrary 335 may perform input/output management, memory management, or afunction for an arithmetic function.

The application manager 341 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one of the applications 370. The window manager 342 may manage GUIresources used by a screen. The multimedia manager 343 may identify aformat required for reproducing various media files, and may encode ordecode a media file using a codec suitable for the corresponding format.The resource manager 344 may manage resources of at least one of theapplications 370, such as a source code, a memory, a storage space, andthe like.

The power manager 345 may operate together with, for example, a basicinput/output system (BIOS) to manage a battery or power and providepower information required for an operation of the electronic device.The database manager 346 may generate, search, or change a database tobe used by at least one of the applications 370. The package manager 347may manage installation or update of an application distributed in theformat of a package file.

The connectivity manager 348 may manage, for example, a wirelessconnection, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The notification manager 349 maydisplay or notify of an event, such as a received message, anappointment, and a proximity notification, in such a manner as not todisturb a user. The location manager 350 may manage location informationof the electronic device. The graphic manager 351 may manage a graphiceffect to be provided to a user, or a user interface related thereto.The security manager 352 may provide all security functions required forsystem security or user authentication. According to an embodiment, whenthe electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101) has a telephonecall function, the middleware 330 may further include a telephonymanager for managing a voice or video call function of the electronicdevice.

The middleware 330 may include a middleware module that formscombinations of various functions of the aforementioned elements. Themiddleware 330 may provide specialized modules according to the types ofoperating systems in order to provide differentiated functions. Inaddition, the middleware 330 may dynamically delete some of the existingelements, or may add new elements.

The API 360 (e.g., the API 145) may be, for example, a set of APIprogramming functions, and may be provided with different configurationsaccording to operating systems. For example, in the case of Android oriOS, one API set may be provided for each platform, and in the case ofTizen, two or more API sets may be provided for each platform.

The applications 370 (e.g., the application 147) may include, forexample, one or more applications that can provide functions, such ashome 371, dialer 372, SMS/MMS 373, instant message (IM) 374, browser375, camera 376, alarm 377, contact 378, voice dialer 379, e-mail 380,calendar 381, media player 382, album 383, clock 384, health care (e.g.,to measure exercise quantity or blood sugar), or environment information(e.g., atmospheric pressure, humidity, or temperature information).

According to an embodiment, the applications 370 may include anapplication (hereinafter, referred to as an “information exchangeapplication” for convenience of the description) that supportsinformation exchange between the electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 101) and external electronic devices (e.g., the electronicdevices 102 and 104). The information exchange application may include,for example, a notification relay application for transmitting specificinformation to the external electronic device, or a device managementapplication for managing the external electronic device.

For example, the notification relay application may include a functionof transferring, to an external electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 102 or 104), notification information generated from otherapplications of the electronic device (e.g., an SMS/MMS application, ane-mail application, a health management application, or an environmentalinformation application). Furthermore, the notification relayapplication may, for example, receive notification information from anexternal electronic device and provide the received notificationinformation to a user. The device management application may, forexample, manage (e.g., install, delete, or update) at least one functionof an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 104)communicating with the electronic device (for example, a function ofturning on/off the external electronic device itself (or some elementsthereof), or a function of adjusting luminance (or a resolution) of thedisplay), applications operating in the external electronic device, orservices provided by the external electronic device (e.g., a telephonecall service or a message service).

According to an embodiment, the applications 370 may include anapplication (e.g., a health care application) specified according toattributes (e.g., attributes of the electronic device such as the typeof electronic device which corresponds to a mobile medical device) ofthe external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102 or 104).According to one embodiment, the applications 370 may include anapplication received from an external electronic device (e.g., theserver 106 or the electronic device 102 or 104). According to anembodiment, the applications 370 may include a preloaded application ora third party application that can be downloaded from a server. Thenames of the elements of the program module 310, according to theembodiment illustrated in the drawing, may vary according to the type ofoperating system.

According to various embodiments, at least a part of the programmingmodule 310 may be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, or acombination of two or more thereof. At least some of the programmingmodule 310 may be implemented (for example, executed) by, for example,the processor (for example, the AP 210). At least some of theprogramming module 310 may include, for example, a module, program,routine, sets of instructions, process, or the like for performing oneor more functions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the followingdescription, the internal structure of the electronic device 400 maycorrespond to that for charging or discharging the battery of theelectronic device 101 of FIG. 1 or the battery of the electronic device201 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electronic device 400, according to the variousembodiments of the present disclosure, may include wired interfaces 401,413, an Over-Voltage Protection (OVP) module 403, a charging module 405,a battery 407, a voltage regulation module 409, an over-currentprotection module 411, a wireless power reception module 421, and awireless power transmission module 431.

The wired interfaces 401, 413 may be connected to external devices in awired manner in order to charge and discharge the battery 407. Accordingto an embodiment, the wired interface 1 (401) may be connected to anexternal power supply device (e.g., an auxiliary battery device, acharging adaptor, etc.) via a wired connection in order to charge thebattery 407. According to an embodiment, the wired interface 2 (413) maybe connected to an external device (e.g., a wearable device), via awired connection, in order to discharge the battery 407. According to anembodiment, the wired interface 1 (401) and the wired interface 2 (413)may be integrated into the same interface.

The over-voltage protection module 403 may protect the electronic device400 from an over-voltage caused by the external power supply device thatis connected through the wired interface 1 (401).

The charging module 405 may charge the battery 407. For example, thecharging module 405 may supply, to the battery 407, external power thatis received through the wired interface 1 (401) or the wireless powerreception module 421.

The battery 407 (e.g., the battery 190), which includes a plurality ofcells, may be charged with the external power and may supply power tothe external device. According to an embodiment, the cells of thebattery 407 may be connected to each other in series. According to anembodiment, the cells of the battery 407 may be selectively connected toeach other in series or in parallel. For example, at least two cells ofthe battery 407 may be connected in series in order to discharge thebattery, and at least two cells of the battery 407 may be connected inparallel in order to charge the battery.

The voltage regulation module 1 (409) may drop the output voltage of thebattery 407 to a predetermined level (e.g., 5 V). For example, when theoutput voltage of the battery 407 is higher than a reference voltage(e.g., 5 V) by the series connection between the plurality of cells, thevoltage regulation module 1 (409) may drop the output voltage of thebattery 407 to the reference voltage. For example, the voltageregulation module 1 (409) may include a DC/DC converter, a buckconverter, a Low Drop Out (LDO) regulator, or the like.

The over-current protection module 411 may cut off an over-current toprevent the over-current from being supplied to the external device thatis connected through the wired interface 2 (413).

The wireless power reception module 421 may receive external powerwirelessly through a wireless power reception method. For example, thewireless power reception module 421 may include a reception coil 423 forreceiving external power in a wireless manner, a rectifying module 425,and a voltage regulation module 2 (427).

The reception coil 423 may include a coil loop and a resonance circuitin order to receive power in a wireless manner. For example, the coilloop and the resonance circuit may be shared with a transmission coil437 of the wireless power transmission module 431.

The rectifying module 425 may convert AC power received from thereception coil 423 into DC power. For example, the rectifying module 425may include a half bridge rectifying module or a full-bridge rectifyingmodule.

The voltage regulation module 2 (427) may convert the DC power receivedfrom the rectifying module 425 into DC power suitable for the chargingmodule 405. For example, the voltage regulation module 2 (427) mayinclude a DC/DC converter, an LDO regulator, or the like.

The wireless power transmission module 431 may supply power, which isreceived from the battery 407 or the wired interface 1 (401), to anexternal device through a wireless power supply method. For example, thewireless power transmission module 431 may include a voltage regulationmodule 3 (433), an inverter 435, and the transmission coil 437.

The voltage regulation module 3 (433) may convert the output voltage ofthe battery 407, which is received from the charging module 405, into DCpower suitable for an external device that receives the power.

The inverter 435 may convert the DC power, which is received from thevoltage regulation module 3 (433), into AC power, and may supply the ACpower to the external device through the transmission coil 437.

The transmission coil 437 may include a coil loop and a resonancecircuit in order to supply power wirelessly. For example, the coil loopand the resonance circuit may be shared with the reception coil 423 ofthe wireless power reception module 421. In various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, at least one of the voltage regulation modules 409,427, and 433, which are part of the electronic device 400, may beincluded in the charging module 405. In another embodiment, at least oneof the voltage regulation modules 409, 427, and 433, which are part ofthe electronic device 400, may be omitted. In yet another embodiment,the reception coil 423 may include the rectifying module 425. In yetanother embodiment, the transmission coil 437 may include the inverter435.

FIGS. 5A-B are diagrams of an example of an electronic device, accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure. More particularly,FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate transmission/reception path structures forwired and/or wireless charging of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the electronic device 500, according tothe various embodiments of the present disclosure, may include wiredinterfaces 501, 515, an over-voltage protection module (VOP) 503, awireless power reception module 505, a charging module 507, a battery509, a voltage regulation module 511, an over-current protection module513, a wireless power transmission module 517, a plurality of switches521 to 526, and a processor 530. Detailed descriptions of modules thatoperate in the same way as the modules 401 to 437 included in theelectronic device 400 of FIG. 4, among the modules 501 to 517 includedin the electronic device 500, will be omitted in the followingdescription.

The switches 521 to 526 of FIG. 5A may control a current flow under thecontrol of the processor 530 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1) inorder to correspond to a charging mode of the battery 509. For example,the switches 521 to 526 may be set to selectively open and short-circuita battery charging path and a battery discharging path in order tocorrespond to the charging mode of the battery 509.

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize thatexternal power is received through the wired interface 1 (501) in awired manner, based on control signals (e.g., VIN_DET and RESET)associated with a power line that passes through the over-voltageprotection module 503. The processor 530 may control the switches 521 to526 in order to charge the battery and to supply wireless power andwired power by using the external power received through the wiredinterface 1 (501).

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize that thepower of the battery 509 is supplied to an external device in a wiredand/or wireless manner, based on a control signal (e.g., VOUT_DET)associated with a power line that passes through the over-currentprotection module 513 and a control signal (e.g., RX_ON) of the wirelesspower transmission module 517. The processor 530 may control theswitches 521 to 526 in order to perform wireless power supply and/orwired power supply by using the power of the battery 509.

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize thatexternal power is wirelessly received through the wireless powerreception module 505, based on a control signal (RX_ACTIVE) of thewireless power reception module 505. The processor 530 may control theswitches 521 to 526 in order to charge the battery and to supply powerover a wired channel by using the external power that is receivedthrough the wireless power reception module 505.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theprocessor 530 may identify a charging mode of the electronic device 500by using the control signals as in Table 1, and may control the switchesand the modules in order to correspond to the identified charging mode.For example, in Table 1, LOW and disable may represent a deactivatedstate of a relevant module, and HIGH and enable may represent anactivated state of a relevant module.

TABLE 1 Standby Wired Wired Wireless Wired/Wireless Wireless modecharging discharging discharging discharging charging Note VIN_DET LOWHIGH LOW LOW LOW LOW Identify charger input RX_ACTIVE LOW LOW HIGH LOWLOW HIGH Identify operation of wireless power reception module VOUT_DETLOW X HIGH LOW HIGH X Identify connection of external device at adischarging side Switch 3 LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW HIGH Connection path ofwireless power reception module Switch 5 LOW HIGH LOW LOW LOW LOW Pathfor connection of charger input power to wireless power transmissionmodule Switch 6 LOW LOW LOW HIGH HIGH LOW Connection path betweeninternal battery power and wireless power transmission module WirelessEnable Disable Enable Disable Disable Enable Operating state of powerwireless power reception reception module module Wireless Disable EnableDisable Enable Enable Disable Operating state of power wireless powertransmission transmission module module Charging Disable Enable DisableDisable Disable Enable Operating state of module charging module VoltageDisable Disable Enable Disable Enable Disable Operating state ofregulation voltage regulation module module

Referring to FIG. 5B, the wireless power transmission module 517 maysupply power, which is received from the battery 509, to an externaldevice through a wireless power supply method.

The switches 521 to 524 may control a current flow under the control ofthe processor 530 (e.g., the processor 120 of FIG. 1) in order tocorrespond to a charging mode of the battery 509. For example, theswitches 521 to 524 may be set to selectively open and short-circuit abattery charging path and a battery discharging path in order tocorrespond to the charging mode of the battery 509.

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize thatexternal power is received through the wired interface 1 (501) in awired manner, based on control signals (e.g., VIN_DET and RESET)associated with a power line that passes through the over-voltageprotection module 503. The processor 530 may control the switches 521 to524 in order to charge the battery and to supply power over a wiredchannel by using the external power that is received through the wiredinterface 1 (501).

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize that thepower of the battery 509 is supplied to the external device in a wiredand/or wireless manner, based on a control signal (e.g., VOUT_DET)associated with a power line that passes through the over-currentprotection module 513 and a control signal (e.g., RX_ON) of the wirelesspower transmission module 517. The processor 530 may control theswitches 521 to 524 in order to supply power from the battery 509wirelessly and/or over a wired channel.

According to an embodiment, the processor 530 may recognize thatexternal power is wirelessly received through the wireless powerreception module 505, based on a control signal (RX_ACTIVE) of thewireless power reception module 505. The processor 530 may control theswitches 521 to 524 in order to charge the battery and to supply wiredpower by using the external power that is received through the wirelesspower reception module 505.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theprocessor 530 may identify a charging mode of the electronic device 500by using the control signals as in Table 2, and may control the switchesand the modules in order to correspond to the identified charging mode.For example, in Table 2, LOW and disable may represent a deactivatedstate of a relevant module, and HIGH and enable may represent anactivated state of a relevant module.

TABLE 2 Standby Wired Wired Wireless Wired/Wireless Wireless modecharging discharging discharging discharging charging Note VIN_DET LOWHIGH LOW LOW LOW LOW Identify charger input RX_ACTIVE LOW LOW HIGH LOWLOW HIGH Identify operation of wireless power reception module VOUT_DETLOW X HIGH LOW HIGH X Identify connection of external device at adischarging side Switch 3 LOW LOW LOW LOW LOW HIGH Connection path ofwireless power reception module Wireless Enable Disable Enable DisableDisable Enable Operating state of wireless power power reception modulereception module Wireless Disable Enable Disable Enable Enable DisableOperating state of wireless power power transmission module transmissionmodule Charging Disable Enable Disable Disable Disable Enable Operatingstate of charging module module Voltage Disable Disable Enable DisableEnable Disable Operating state of voltage regulation regulation modulemodule

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device 500 may be configured without the voltage regulationmodule 511.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may be configured to use the battery power or externalpower as illustrated in FIG. 5A, or to use the battery power asillustrated in FIG. 5B, when supplying power to an external devicethrough a wireless power supply method.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a housing; a battery that is mounted inthe housing and contains a plurality of cells that are to be connectedin series; a circuit electrically connected to the battery; and aconductive pattern electrically connected to the circuit in the interiorof the housing, wherein the circuit may be configured to wirelesslyreceive power from a first external device through the conductivepattern, to charge at least some of the plurality of cells in thebattery by using the power, to change a first voltage, which isgenerated by a series connection between at least two of the pluralityof cells in the battery, into a second voltage that is lower than thefirst voltage, and to transmit power wirelessly based on the secondvoltage to a second external device through the conductive pattern.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may furtherinclude: a processor in the housing; a display that is exposed throughat least one side of the housing and is connected to the processor; anda memory electrically connected to the processor, wherein the memory maystore instructions that allow the processor, when being executed, toreceive a first signal from the second external device and to transmitthe power based on the second voltage to the second external device byusing the circuit at least partially based on the first signal.

According to various embodiments, the instructions may allow theprocessor to display at least one of the charging state of the batteryand the charging state of a battery of the second external device on apart of the display.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured toreceive power from a third external device over a wired connection, tocharge at least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by usingthe wiredly received power, to change a third voltage, which isgenerated by a series connection between at least two of the pluralityof cells in the battery, into a fourth voltage that is lower than thethird voltage, and to transmit power based on the fourth voltage to afourth external device in a wired manner.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured totransmit, to the fourth external device, at least some of the wiredlyreceived power or the wirelessly received power.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured totransmit at least some of the wiredly received power to the secondexternal device and to prevent the wiredly received power from flowinginto the conductive pattern.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured toprevent the power transmitted to the second or fourth external devicefrom flowing into the conductive pattern and the third external device.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a housing; a battery that is mounted inthe housing and contains a plurality of cells that are to be connectedin series; a circuit electrically connected to the battery; and aconductive pattern electrically connected to the circuit in the interiorof the housing, wherein the circuit may be configured to receive powerwirelessly from a first external device through the conductive pattern,to charge at least some of the plurality of cells in the battery byusing the power, to selectively connect at least two of the plurality ofcells in the battery in series, and to transmit power wirelessly basedon a first voltage, which is generated by the cells that are selectivelyconnected in series, to a second external device through the conductivepattern.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may furtherinclude: a processor in the housing; a display that is exposed throughat least one side of the housing and is connected to the processor; anda memory electrically connected to the processor, wherein the memory maystore instructions that allow the processor, when being executed, toreceive a first signal from the second external device and to transmitthe power based on the first voltage to the second external device byusing the circuit at least partially based on the first signal.

According to various embodiments, the instructions may allow theprocessor to display at least one of the charging state of the batteryand the charging state of a battery of the second external device on apart of the display.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured toreceive power from a third external device in a wired manner, to chargeat least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by using thewiredly received power, to selectively connect at least two of theplurality of cells in the battery in series, and to transmit power basedon a second voltage, which is generated by the cells that areselectively connected in series, to a fourth external device in a wiredmanner.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured totransmit, to the fourth external device, at least some of the wiredlyreceived power or the wirelessly received power.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured totransmit at least some of the wiredly received power to the secondexternal device and to prevent the wiredly received power from flowinginto the conductive pattern.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured toprevent the power transmitted to the second or fourth external devicefrom flowing into the conductive pattern and the third external device.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a housing; a first battery mounted in thehousing; a circuit electrically connected to the first battery; and aprocessor electrically connected to the circuit, wherein the circuit maybe configured to receive first power from a first external device in awired or wireless manner, to separate the first power into second powerand third power, to charge the first battery by using the second power,and to charge a second battery included in the second external device bytransmitting the third power to the second external device, and theprocessor may be configured to determine a first amount of power, whichis to be separated as the second power, among the first power and asecond amount of power, which is to be separated as the third power,based on the result obtained by comparing a first charging variable forcharging the first battery and a second charging variable for chargingthe second battery.

According to various embodiments, the first charging variable mayinclude at least one of the residual quantity of the first battery, acharging completion time of the first battery, and the whole capacity ofthe first battery, and the second charging variable may include at leastone of the residual quantity of the second battery, a chargingcompletion time of the second battery, information on the connectionwith the second external device, information on the operating state ofthe second external device, and the whole charging capacity of thesecond battery.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a housing; a battery that is mounted inthe housing and contains a plurality of cells that are to be connectedin series; and a circuit electrically connected to the battery, whereinthe circuit may be configured to receive power from a first externaldevice in a wired or wireless manner, to charge at least some of theplurality of cells in the battery by using the power, to generate avoltage by a series connection between at least two of the plurality ofcells in the battery, and to transmit power based on the voltage, whichis generated by the cells connected in series, to a second externaldevice in a wired and/or wireless manner.

According to various embodiments, the circuit may be configured totransmit at least some of the wiredly or wirelessly received power tothe second external device in a wired and/or wireless manner.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may receive external powerwirelessly. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may receivepower from an external device that is wirelessly connected through thewireless power reception module 421 or 505.

In operation 603, the electronic device may charge the battery (e.g.,the battery 190, 296, 407, or 509) of the electronic device with thewirelessly received power. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500may charge a plurality of cells that are part of the battery 407 or 509according to the connection state (e.g., series connection or parallelconnection) of the corresponding cells.

In operation 605, the electronic device may wirelessly supply, to theexternal device, the power that is generated by connecting the cells ofthe battery in series. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maysupply the power, which is generated by connecting, in series, at leasttwo of the cells that are part of the battery, to the external devicethrough the wireless power transmission module 431 or 517.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the operation ofcharging the battery in operation 603 of FIG. 6 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 701, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may connect at least two cellsincluded in the corresponding battery in parallel in order to charge thebattery.

In operation 703, the electronic device may charge the at least twocells, which are connected in parallel, with the wirelessly receivedpower. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may charge thebattery 407 or 509 by supplying the power, which is wirelessly receivedthrough the charging module 405 or 507, to the at least two cells thatare connected in parallel.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the operation ofsupplying the power to the external device in operation 605 of FIG. 6will be described.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation 801, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may generate a first voltage byconnecting at least two cells, which are part of the battery, in series.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may generate power of thefirst voltage that is obtained by adding voltages of the cells that areconnected in series.

In operation 803, the electronic device may change the first voltageinto a second voltage. For example, when the output voltage (the firstvoltage) of the battery 407 or 509 is generated to be higher than areference voltage (the second voltage, for example, 5 V) through theseries connection between the cells, the electronic device 400 or 500may drop the output voltage of the battery 407 or 509 to the referencevoltage. In this case, the electronic device 400 or 500 may use thevoltage regulation module 409 or 511 in order to drop the output voltageof the battery 407 or 509 to the reference voltage.

In operation 805, the electronic device may supply the power of thesecond voltage to the external device in a wireless manner. For example,the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply the power of the secondvoltage to the external device through the wireless power transmissionmodule 431 or 517.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, an operation ofcontrolling battery charging by using screen configurations illustratedin FIGS. 10A and 10B will be described.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 901, the electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may receive power for charging abattery over a wired and/or wireless channel. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may receive external power through thewired interface 1 (401 or 501) or the wireless power reception module421 or 505.

In operation 903, the electronic device may divide the received powerinto first power and second power. For example, based on chargingvariables of the battery 407 or 509 and the external device, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may divide the received power into thefirst power and the second power. Here, the charging variables mayinclude at least one of battery charging completion time of the externaldevice or the electronic device, the battery capacity (the whole batterycapacity) of the external device or the electronic device, the batteryresidual quantity of the external device or the electronic device,information on the connection with the external device, a chargingpriority, the number of external devices that are connected to theelectronic device, an amount of rechargeable power for a battery, andthe operating state of the external device. The amount of rechargeablepower for a battery may represent an amount of power that can be used tocharge a battery per unit time by using external power. The operatingstate of the external device may include the characteristics (e.g.,kinds, number, or service types) of application programs that are beingexecuted in the external device.

In operation 905, the electronic device may charge the battery with thefirst power that corresponds to the received power. For example, theelectronic device may display the battery residual quantity 1001 thereofon at least a part of the display 160 as illustrated in FIG. 10A.

In operation 907, the electronic device may supply, to the externaldevice, the second power that corresponds to the received power. Forexample, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply, to the externaldevice, the second power through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515) orthe wireless power transmission module 431 or 517 according to a methodof supplying power to the external device (e.g., a wired or wirelessmethod). In this case, the electronic device may display the batteryresidual quantity 1003 of the external device on at least a part of thedisplay 160 as illustrated in FIG. 10B.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the operating methodfor dividing the received power into the first power and the secondpower in operation 903 of FIG. 9 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 11, in operation 1101, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may identify chargingvariables of the battery and the external device. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may identify the charging variable of theexternal device through a control signal that is received from theexternal device connected thereto for power supply.

In operation 1103, the electronic device may divide the received power,which has been received wirelessly and/or over a wired channel, into thefirst power for the battery and the second power for the external devicebased on the charging variable of the battery and the charging variableof the external device. For example, the electronic device may dividethe received power, which has been received wirelessly and/or over awired channel, into pre-defined magnitudes of first and second powerthat correspond to the charging variable of the battery and the chargingvariable of the external device (e.g., the number of external devices),respectively. For example, the electronic device may divide the receivedpower, which has been received wirelessly and/or over a wired channel,into the first power and the second power that have magnitudesdetermined by the charging variable of the battery and the chargingvariable of the external device. For example, the charging variable ofthe battery and the charging variable of the external device may beinput by a user, or may be automatically collected by the electronicdevice.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation 1201, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400, or 500) may be connected to theplurality of external devices in order to supply power thereto. Forexample, the electronic device 400 or 500 may be connected to theplurality of external devices in order to supply power thereto throughat least one of wired and wireless connection methods.

In operation 1203, the electronic device may divide battery power intofirst power and second power that correspond to the external devices.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may divide the batterypower thereof, which is to be provided to the external devices, into thefirst power and the second power based on charging variables of therespective external devices.

In operation 1205, the electronic device may supply, to a first externaldevice, the first power that corresponds to the battery power. Forexample, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply the first power tothe first external device through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515)according to the method in which the electronic device is connected withthe first external device. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500may supply the first power to the first external device through thewireless power transmission module 431 or 517 according to the method inwhich the electronic device is connected with the first external device.

In operation 1207, the electronic device may supply, to a secondexternal device, the second power that corresponds to the battery power.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply the secondpower to the second external device through the wired interface 2 (413or 515) or the wireless power transmission module 431 or 517 accordingto the method in which the electronic device is connected with thesecond external device.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the operating methodfor dividing the battery power into the first power and the second powerin operation 1203 of FIG. 12 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 13, in operation 1301, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may identify chargingvariables of the respective external devices. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may receive charging variable informationfrom each external device, which is connected thereto for power supply,in response to a request for the charging variable.

In operation 1303, the electronic device may divide the battery powerinto the first power for the first external device and the second powerfor the second external device based on the charging variables of therespective external devices. For example, the electronic device maydivide the battery power into pre-defined magnitudes of first and secondpower that correspond to the charging variables of the external devices(e.g., the number of external devices). For example, the electronicdevice may divide the battery power into the first power and the secondpower that have magnitudes determined based on the charging variables ofthe external devices. For example, the charging variables of theexternal devices may be input by a user, or may be automaticallycollected by the electronic device.

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of an example of a process for charging anddischarging a battery in an electronic device by using wired power,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In thefollowing description, the electronic device is assumed to be connectedto an external power supply device through a Dedicated Charging Port(DCP) charging method.

Referring to FIG. 14A, in operation 1401, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400, or 500) may be connected to theexternal power supply device (e.g., a Travel Adaptor (TA) charger or anauxiliary battery device) via a wired connection.

In operation 1403, the electronic device may detect whether a wirelesspower supply request signal is received from an external device. Inanother example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whetherinformation on access of the external device to a wireless charging padof the electronic device 400 or 500 is received.

In operation 1405, the electronic device, when receiving the wirelesspower supply request signal from the external device, may detect whetherwired service power exceeds second reference service power (e.g., 20mA). For example, when wired power that exceeds the second referenceservice power is supplied through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515),the electronic device 400 or 500 may determine that an external devicehas been connected thereto in order to receive power through the wiredinterface 2 (413 or 515). Here, the wired service power may represent anamount of power that is supplied to the external device through thewired interface 2 (413 or 515).

In operation 1407, when the wired service power exceeds the secondreference service power, the electronic device may charge the batterythereof and may perform wireless power supply and wired power supply byusing the external power that has been received through the wiredconnection. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may control tosupply, to the battery 407 or 509, external power that is received fromthe wired interface 1 (401 or 501). The electronic device 400 or 500 maysupply the external power, which is received from the wired interface 1(401 or 501), to at least one external device through the wiredinterface 2 (413 or 515) and the wireless power transmission module 431or 517.

In operation 1409, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device may chargethe battery thereof and may perform wireless power supply by using theexternal power that has been received through the wired connection. Forexample, when the wired service power is lower than or equal to thesecond reference service power, the electronic device may recognize thatthe battery of the external device that supplies power over a wiredconnection has been completely charged, or that the connection with theexternal device has been released. Accordingly, the electronic device400 or 500 may supply the external power, which is received from thewired interface 1 (401 or 501), to the battery 407 or 509, or may supplythe external power to at least one external device through the wirelesspower transmission module 431 or 517.

In operation 1411, when no wireless power supply request signal isreceived from the external device, the electronic device may detectwhether wired service power exceeds the second reference service power.

In operation 1413, when the wired service power exceeds the secondreference service power, the electronic device may charge the batterythereof and may perform wired power supply by using the external powerthat has been received through the wired connection. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may supply the external power, which isreceived from the wired interface 1 (401 or 501), to the battery 407 or509, or may supply the external power to at least one external devicethrough the wired interface 2 (413 or 515).

In operation 1415, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device may chargethe battery thereof by using the external power that has been receivedthrough the wired connection. For example, the electronic device 400 or500 may supply, to the battery 407 or 509, the external power that isreceived from the wired interface 1 (401 or 501).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may selectively charge the battery thereof based on acharging variable of the battery. For example, the electronic device 400or 500 may identify the charging variable of the battery 407 or 509 whenan external power supply device is connected thereto through the wiredinterface 1 (401 or 501). The electronic device 400 or 500 may determinewhether to charge the battery 407 or 509 based on the charging variableof the battery 407 or 509.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 400 or 500, whendetermining not to charge the battery 407 or 509, may perform at leastone of the wireless power supply and the wired power supply based onwhether the wireless power supply request signal is received (operation1403) and based on the magnitude of the wired service power (operation1405 or 1411).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may selectively perform at least one of the batterycharging, the wireless power supply, and the wired power supply based onat least one of the state information of the external power supplydevice, a charging variable of an external device connected thereto in awireless or wired manner, and a charging variable of the batterythereof. Here, the state information of the external power supply devicemay include at least one of the type of the external power supply deviceand an amount of external power.

FIG. 14B is a flowchart of an example of a process for selectivelyperforming wired/wireless power supply by an electronic device based ona charging state thereof, according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In the following description, the electronic deviceis assumed to be connected to an external power supply device through aDedicated Charging Port (DCP) charging method.

Referring to FIG. 14B, in operation 1421, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may monitor a state in whichthe electronic device is charged by external power that is received overa wired connection. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maymonitor the states of the battery charging, the wireless power supply,and the wired power supply, which are performed by the electronic devicein operation 1407 of FIG. 14A.

In operation 1423, based on the monitoring result on the charging statethereof, the electronic device may detect whether the wired power supplyis completed. For example, based on wired service power through thewired interface 2 (413 or 515), the electronic device 400 or 500 maydetect whether the wired power supply is completed. By way of example,when the wired service power is lower than or equal to a secondreference service power, the electronic device 400 or 500 may determinethat the wired power supply has been completed. For example, based onthe connection of an external device with the wired interface 2 (413 or515), the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether the wiredpower supply is completed. By way of example, when the connection of theexternal device with the wired interface 2 (413 or 515) is released, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may determine that the wired power supplyhas been completed.

In operation 1425, when the wired power supply is not completed, theelectronic device may detect whether wireless power supply is completed.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether acharging completion signal (e.g., CS100) is received from an externaldevice that supplies wireless power. By way of example, the electronicdevice 400 or 500, when receiving the charging completion signal, maydetermine that the wireless power supply has been completed. Forexample, based on the connection with the external device that suppliesthe wireless power, the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whetherthe wireless power supply is completed. By way of example, when theconnection with the external device that supplies the wireless power isreleased, the electronic device 400 or 500 may identify that thewireless power supply has been completed.

In operation 1427, when the wired power supply and the wireless powersupply are not completed, the electronic device may charge the batterythereof and may perform wireless power supply and wired power supply byusing the external power that has been received through the wiredconnection. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maycontinually perform the battery charging, the wireless power supply, andthe wired power supply using the external power received from the wiredinterface 1 (401 or 501).

In operation 1429, when the wired power supply is not completed, and thewireless power supply has been completed, the electronic device maycharge the battery thereof and may perform wired power supply by usingthe external power that has been received through the wired connection.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply the externalpower, which is received from the wired interface 1 (401 or 501), to thebattery 407 or 509, or may supply the external power to at least oneexternal device through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515).

In operation 1431, when the wired power supply has been completed, theelectronic device may detect whether wireless power supply is completed.

In operation 1433, when the wired power supply has been completed, andthe wireless power supply is not completed, the electronic device maycharge the battery thereof and may perform wireless power supply byusing the external power that has been received through the wiredconnection. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply theexternal power, which is received from the wired interface 1 (401 or501), to the battery 407 or 509, or may supply the external power to atleast one external device through the wireless power transmission module431 or 517.

In operation 1435, when the wired power supply and the wireless powersupply have been completed, the electronic device may charge the batterythereof by using the external power that has been received through thewired connection. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maysupply, to the battery 407 or 509, the external power received from thewired interface 1 (401 or 501).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device may selectively supply external power to the batterythereof based on whether the battery is completely charged. For example,when the battery 407 or 509 has been completely charged by the externalpower received through the wired interface 1 (401 or 501), theelectronic device 400 or 500 may cut off the external power supply tothe battery 407 or 509.

According to an embodiment, when the battery 407 or 509 has beencompletely charged, the electronic device 400 or 500 may continuallyperform at least one of the wireless power supply and the wired powersupply based on whether the wired power supply is completed (operation1423) and based on whether the wireless power supply is completed(operation 1425 or 1431).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when theconnection with the external power supply device is released while theelectronic device performs at least one of the battery charging, thewireless power supply, and the wired power supply, the electronic devicemay complete the ongoing charging operation.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when theconnection with the external power supply device is released while theelectronic device performs at least one of the battery charging, thewireless power supply, and the wired power supply, the electronic devicemay maintain at least one of the wireless power supply and the wiredpower supply by using the battery power thereof. For example, theelectronic device may control to maintain at least one of the wirelesspower supply and the wired power supply based on the residual quantityof the battery thereof.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, a currentflow for performing the battery charging, the wired power supply, andthe wireless power supply by using the external power received throughthe wired connection in operation 1407 of FIG. 14 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 15, the electronic device 1500 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500), when being connected to an external power supply devicethrough a wired interface 1 (1501) (e.g., the wired interface 1 (501)),may control switches 1521 to 1526 to perform the battery charging, thewireless power supply, and the wired power supply.

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (1521) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be activated (turned on) in order to supply external power,which is received through the wired interface 1 (1501), into theelectronic device 1500.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 1500 may include aninput current limiting module 1 that is located at the front or rear endof the switch 1 (1521). For example, the input current limiting module 1may prevent an over-current caused by the external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (1501), from flowing into theelectronic device 1500. By way of example, the input current limitingmodule 1 may prevent a current that exceeds a current limit value, whichis received from a processor (e.g., the processor 120, 210, or 530),from flowing into the electronic device 1500. The processor may set thecurrent limit value of the input current limiting module 1 based on acurrent required by the electronic device 1500.

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (1522) (e.g., the switch 2(522) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (1501), to a wired interface 2(1515) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)). According to an embodiment,the electronic device 1500 may include an input current limiting module2 that is located at the front or rear end of the switch 2 (1522). Forexample, the input current limiting module 2 may prevent theover-current caused by the external power, which is received through thewired interface 1 (1501), from flowing into an external device that isconnected to the electronic device through the wired interface 2 (1515).By way of example, the input current limiting module 2 may prevent acurrent that exceeds a current limit value, which is received from theprocessor, from flowing into the external device. The processor may setthe current limit value of the input current limiting module 2 based ona current required by the external device that is connected to the wiredinterface 2 (1515).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (1523) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated (turned off) in order to prevent the externalpower, which is received through the wired interface 1 (1501), fromflowing into a battery charging path by a wireless power receptionmodule 1505 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (1524) (e.g., the switch 4(524) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wired interface 1 (1501), from flowing into abattery discharging path.

According to an embodiment, the switch 5 (1525) (e.g., the switch 5(525) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (1501), to a wireless powertransmission module (1517) (e.g., the wireless power transmission module517).

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 1500 may include aninput current limiting module 3 that is located at the front or rear endof the switch 5 (1525). For example, the input current limiting module 3may prevent the over-current caused by the external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (1501), from flowing into thewireless power transmission module 1517. By way of example, the inputcurrent limiting module 3 may prevent a current that exceeds a currentlimit value, which is received from the processor, from flowing into thewireless power transmission module 1517. The processor may set thecurrent limit value of the input current limiting module 3 based on acurrent required by the wireless power transmission module 1517.

According to an embodiment, the switch 6 (1526) (e.g., the switch 6(526)) may be set such that the external power received through thewired interface 1 (1501) does not flow into the battery dischargingpath, and the power of a battery 1509 (e.g., the battery 509) issupplied to the wireless power transmission module 1517.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device 1500 may include aninput current limiting module 4 that is located at the front or rear endof a charging module 1507. For example, the input current limitingmodule 4 may prevent the over-current caused by the external power,which is received through the wired interface 1 (1501), from flowinginto the battery 1509. By way of example, the input current limitingmodule 4 may prevent a current that exceeds a current limit value, whichis received from the processor, from flowing into the battery 1509. Theprocessor may set the current limit value of the input current limitingmodule 4 based on a current required by the battery 1509.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device 1500 may prevent the over-current caused by theexternal power from flowing into the external device, which is connectedto the electronic device through the wired interface 2 (1515), by usingat least one of the input current limiting module 2 and an over-currentprotection module 1513.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example of a process for charging anddischarging a battery in an electronic device by using wired power,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, in operation 1601, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may be connected to anexternal power supply device via a wired connection. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may be connected to the external powersupply device through the wired interface 1 (401 or 501) in a StandardDownstream Port (SDP) charging method.

In operation 1603, the electronic device may charge the battery thereofand may supply wired power by using external power received from theexternal power supply device. For example, when the electronic device400 or 500 is connected to the external power supply device in the SDPcharging method, the electronic device 400 or 500 may determine that theelectronic device cannot supply power wirelessly by using the powerreceived from the external power supply device. Accordingly, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may perform the battery charging and thewired power supply by using the external power received over a wiredconnection.

In operation 1605, the electronic device may compare wired service powerwith second reference service power to detect whether the wired servicepower exceeds the second reference service power. For example, when itis determined that the wired service power is lower than or equal to thesecond reference service power, the electronic device 400 or 500 maydetermine that the battery of an external device, which is connected tothe electronic device through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515), hasbeen completely charged. When it is determined that the wired servicepower exceeds the second reference service power, the electronic device400 or 500 may determine that the battery of the external device, whichis connected to the electronic device through the wired interface 2 (413or 515), is not completely charged.

In cases where the wired service power exceeds the second referenceservice power, the electronic device may perform the battery chargingand the wired power supply by using the external power received over awired connection in operation 1603. In this case, the electronic devicemay detect whether to continually maintain the wired power supply inoperation 1605 again.

In operation 1607, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device may performthe battery charging by using the external power received through thewired connection. For example, when the wired service power is lowerthan or equal to the second reference service power, the electronicdevice 400 or 500 may determine that the battery of the external devicehas been completely charged, and may stop supplying the wired power, ormay supply lower power to the external device.

The electronic device may identify detect the wired service powerexceeds the second reference service power in operation 1605 again. Forexample, the electronic device may detect whether to restart the wiredpower supply while charging the battery by using the external powerreceived through the wired connection.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an example of a process for supplying powerover a wired or wireless channel by using the power of a battery in anelectronic device, according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, in operation 1701, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may perform wireless powersupply and wired power supply by using the power of a battery thereof.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may supply the batterypower to at least one external device that is connected thereto throughthe wired interface 2 (413 or 515). The electronic device 400 or 500 maysupply the battery power to at least one external device through thewireless power transmission module 431 or 517.

In operation 1703, the electronic device may detect whether an externaldevice exists that can be supplied with power wirelessly. For example,the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether a wireless powersupply request signal is received from an external device. By way ofexample, the electronic device 400 or 500, when receiving a wirelesspower supply request signal, may determine that an external deviceexists that can be supplied with power wirelessly. In another example,the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether an external deviceconnects to a wireless charging pad thereof. By way of example, when anexternal device connects to the wireless charging pad, the electronicdevice 400 or 500 may determine that an external device exists that canbe supplied with power wirelessly. In yet another example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether the battery of anexternal device to be supplied with power wirelessly has been completelycharged. By way of example, when the battery of an external device isnot completely charged, the electronic device 400 or 500 may determinethat an external device exists that can be supplied with powerwirelessly.

In operation 1705, when there is no external device that can be suppliedwith power wirelessly, the electronic device may deactivate the wirelesspower supply. For example, when an external device that can be suppliedwith power wirelessly cannot be identified for a first reference timeperiod (e.g., 30 seconds), the electronic device 400 or 500 maydeactivate the wireless power transmission module 431 or 517. In thiscase, the electronic device 400 or 500 may maintain the wired powersupply.

In operation 1707, the electronic device may compare the wired servicepower with second reference service power to detect whether the wiredservice power exceeds the second reference service power. For example,the electronic device may compare the wired service power and the secondreference service power to determine whether to maintain the wired powersupply. Namely, based on the magnitude of the wired service power, theelectronic device may detect whether an external device exists that canbe supplied with power over a wired connection.

The electronic device may determine to maintain the wired power supplywhen the wired service power exceeds the second reference service power.Accordingly, in operation 1707, the electronic device may compare thewired service power and the second reference service power while thewireless power supply is deactivated, and may determine whether tomaintain the wired power supply again.

In operation 1709, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device maydeactivate the wired power supply. For example, when the wired servicepower is lower than or equal to the second reference service power, theelectronic device may determine that the connection with the externaldevice to be supplied with power in a wired manner has been released, orthe battery of the external device has been completely charged.Accordingly, when the wired service power is lower than or equal to thesecond reference service power for a second reference time (e.g., oneminute), the electronic device 400 or 500 may deactivate batterydischarging using a wired connection.

In operation 1711, when there is no external device that can be suppliedwith power wirelessly, the electronic device may detect whether thewired service power exceeds the second reference service power.

The electronic device may maintain the wireless power supply and thewired power supply in operation 1701 when the wired service powerexceeds the second reference service power. For example, when the wiredservice power exceeds the second reference service power, the electronicdevice 400 or 500 may determine that an external device to be suppliedwith power in a wired manner exists. Accordingly, the electronic device400 or 500 may maintain the wired power supply to the external device.

In operation 1713, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device maydeactivate the wired power supply. For example, when the power suppliedto the external device through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515) forthe second reference time is lower than or equal to the second referenceservice power, the electronic device 400 or 500 may determine that thewired power supply is completed. Accordingly, the electronic device 400or 500 may cut off the power supply to the wired interface 2 (413 or515) while maintaining the wireless power supply.

In operation 1715, in order to determine whether to maintain thewireless power supply, the electronic device may detect whether anexternal device exists that can be supplied with power wirelessly. Forexample, the electronic device 400 or 500 may detect whether an externaldevice, the battery of which is not completely charged, exists amongexternal devices that are wirelessly connected thereto.

The electronic device may maintain the wireless power supply in anactive state when an external device exists that can be supplied withpower wirelessly. Accordingly, the electronic device may again detectwhether there is an external device that can be supplied with powerwirelessly, in operation 1715.

In operation 1717, when there is no external device that can be suppliedwith power wirelessly, the electronic device may deactivate the wirelesspower supply. For example, when there is no external device that can besupplied with power wirelessly, the electronic device 400 or 500 maydetermine that the connection with an external device that can besupplied with power wirelessly has been released, or the battery of theexternal device has been completely charged. Accordingly, when anexternal device that can be supplied with power in wirelessly cannot bedetected for the first reference time period (e.g., 30 seconds), theelectronic device 400 or 500 may cut off the supply of power to thewireless power transmission module 431 or 517.

The electronic device, according to the various embodiments of thepresent disclosure, may perform the operation 1701 again beforecompleting the power supply to the external device when the state of theexternal device that receives power via a wired or wireless connectionis changed. For example, the change of state of the external device mayinclude a case where the external device, which is connected to theelectronic device in a wireless or wired manner, requires power supplysince the external device is discharged after being fully charged, or acase where the external device is connected to the electronic deviceagain after being disconnected therefrom. FIG. 18 is a diagram of anexample of an electronic device, according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In the discussion with respect to FIG. 18, a currentflow for performing the wired power supply and the wireless power supplyby using the battery power in operation 1701 of FIG. 17 will bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 18, the electronic device 1800 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 1821 to 1826 in order to performwireless power supply and wired power supply by using the power of abattery 1809 thereof (e.g., the battery 509).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (1821) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1809 from flowing into a wired interface 1 (1801) (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (1822) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1809, which is supplied to a wired interface 2 (1815) (e.g., the wiredinterface 2 (515)), from flowing into a battery charging path by thewired interface 1 (1801).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (1823) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1809 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 1805 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (1824) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 1809to the wired interface 2 (1815).

According to an embodiment, the switch 5 (1825) (e.g., the switch 5(525)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1809, which is supplied to a wireless power transmission module 1817(e.g., the wireless power transmission module 517), from flowing into awired power supply path for the wireless power transmission module 1817.

According to an embodiment, the switch 6 (1826) (e.g., the switch 6(526)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 1809to the wireless power transmission module 1817.

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 19, a current flow for performing the wired power supplyby using the battery power in operation 1705 of FIG. 17 will bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 19, the electronic device 1900 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 1921 to 1926 in order to perform wiredpower supply by using the power of a battery 1909 thereof (e.g., thebattery 509).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (1921) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1909 from flowing into a wired interface 1 (1901) (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (1922) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1909, which is supplied to a wired interface 2 (1915) (e.g., the wiredinterface 2 (515)), from flowing into a battery charging path by thewired interface 1 (1901).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (1923) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1909 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 1905 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (1924) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 1909to the wired interface 2 (1915).

According to an embodiment, the switch 5 (1925) (e.g., the switch 5(525)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1909 from flowing into a battery power supply path for a wireless powertransmission module 1917 (e.g., the wireless power transmission module517).

According to an embodiment, the switch 6 (1926) (e.g., the switch 6(526)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery1909 from being supplied to the wireless power transmission module 1917.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 20, a current flow for performing the wireless powersupply by using the battery power in operation 1713 of FIG. 17 will bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 20, the electronic device 2000 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 2021 to 2026 in order to performwireless power supply by using the power of a battery 2009 thereof(e.g., the battery 509).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (2021) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2009 from flowing into a wired interface 1 (2001) (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2022) (e.g., the switch 2(522) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2009 from flowing into a battery discharging path by the wired interface1 (2001).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2023) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2009 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 2005 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2024) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2009 from being supplied to a wired interface 2 (2015).

According to an embodiment, the switch 5 (2025) (e.g., the switch 5(525)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2009, which is supplied to a wireless power transmission module 2017(e.g., the wireless power transmission module 517), from flowing into awired power supply path for the wireless power transmission module 2017.

According to an embodiment, the switch 6 (2026) (e.g., the switch 6(526)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 2009to the wireless power transmission module 2017.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the operation ofdeactivating the wireless power supply in operation 1705 or 1717 of FIG.17 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 21, in operation 2101, when an external device thatcan be supplied with power wirelessly does not exist, the electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 101, 201, 400, or 500) may start afirst timer that is operated for a first reference time. For example,the electronic device 400 or 500 may reset the first timer when awireless connection with an external device that is being supplied withpower wirelessly is released. For example, the electronic device 400 or500 may reset the first timer when receiving a charging completionsignal from the external device that is supplied with power wirelessly.

In operation 2103, the electronic device may detect whether the firsttimer has expired. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maydetect whether the first reference time elapses from the time point whenit is detected that there is no external device that can be suppliedwith power wirelessly.

In operation 2105, before the first time expires, the electronic devicemay again detect whether there is an external device that can besupplied with power wirelessly. For example, the electronic device 400or 500 may detect whether an external device to be supplied with powerin a wireless manner is connected thereto again for the first referencetime.

When an external device exists that can be supplied with powerwirelessly, the electronic device may restart the wireless power supplyin operation 1701 or 1723. For example, when an external device existsthat can be supplied with power wirelessly, the electronic device 400 or500 may control the switch 6 (526) to supply the power of the battery tothe wireless power transmission module 431 or 517. In this case, theelectronic device may complete the operation of the first timer.

When there is no external device that can be supplied with powerwirelessly, the electronic device may again detect whether the firsttimer has expired.

In operation 2107, the electronic device may deactivate a wireless powertransmission module when the first timer expires. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may control to deactivate the wirelesspower transmission module 431 or 517 after the first timer expires.Further, the electronic device 400 or 500 may control the switch 6 (526)to prevent the power of the battery from being supplied to the wirelesspower transmission module 431 or 517.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of an example of a process, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion with respect toFIG. 22, the operation of deactivating the wired power supply inoperation 1709 or 1713 of FIG. 17 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 22, in operation 2201, when the wired service power islower than or equal to the second reference service power, theelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 101, 201, 400, or 500)may start a second timer that is operated for a second reference time.For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may reset the second timerwhen a wired connection with an external device that is being suppliedwith power over the wired connection is released. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may reset the second timer when theexternal device that is supplied with power over the wired connection iscompletely charged.

In operation 2203, the electronic device may detect whether the secondtimer has expired. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 maydetect whether the second reference time elapses from the time pointwhen it is identified that the wired service power is lower than orequal to the second reference service power.

In operation 2205, if the second timer has not yet expired, theelectronic device may detect whether the wired service power exceeds thesecond reference service power. For example, the electronic device 400or 500 may detect whether an external device to be supplied with powerin a wired manner is connected thereto again for the second referencetime.

The electronic device may restart the wired power supply in operation1705 or 1701 when the wired service power exceeds the second referenceservice power. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may controlthe switch 4 (524) to supply the power of the battery to the wiredinterface 2 (413 or 515) when the wired service power exceeds the secondreference service power. In this case, the electronic device 400 or 500may complete the operation of the second timer.

In cases where the wired service power is lower than or equal to thesecond reference service power, the electronic device may again detectwhether the second timer has expired, in operation 2203.

In operation 2207, the electronic device may deactivate the wiredcharging. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may control theswitch 4 (524) to prevent the power of the battery from being suppliedto the wired interface 2 (413 or 515) after the second timer hasexpired.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an example of a process for supplying power ina wired manner by using the power of a battery in an electronic device,according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 23, in operation 2301, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may perform wired powersupply by using the power of the battery thereof. For example, theelectronic device 400 or 500 may activate the switch 4 (524) to supplythe battery power to at least one external device that is connectedthereto through the wired interface 2 (413 or 515).

In operation 2303, the electronic device may detect whether the wiredservice power exceeds the second reference service power. For example,the electronic device 400 or 500 may compare the wired service power andthe second reference service power to determine whether to maintain thewired power supply.

The electronic device may maintain the wired power supply in operation2301 when the wired service power exceeds the second reference servicepower.

In operation 2305, when the wired service power is lower than or equalto the second reference service power, the electronic device may start asecond timer that is operated for a second reference time. For example,when the wired service power is lower than or equal to the secondreference service power, the electronic device 400 or 500 may determineto stop the wired power supply and may reset the second timer.

In operation 2307, the electronic device may detect whether the secondtimer has expired.

In operation 2309, when the second timer has not yet expired, theelectronic device may detect whether the wired service power exceeds thesecond reference service power. For example, the electronic device 400or 500 may detect whether an external device to be supplied with powerover a wired channel is connected thereto again for the second referencetime.

The electronic device may maintain the wired power supply in operation2301 when the wired service power exceeds the second reference servicepower.

When the wired service power is lower than or equal to the secondreference service power, the electronic device may again detect whetherthe second timer has expired, in operation 2307.

The electronic device may deactivate the wired charging after the secondtimer expires. For example, the electronic device 400 or 500 may controlthe switch 4 (524) to prevent the power of the battery from beingsupplied to the wired interface 2 (413 or 515) when the second timerexpires.

FIG. 24 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 24, a current flow for performing battery charging andwired power supply by using external power received through a wirelessconnection will be described.

Referring to FIG. 24, the electronic device 2400 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 2421 to 2426 to perform batterycharging and wired power supply by using external power that is receivedthrough a wireless power reception module 2405 (e.g., the wireless powerreception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (2412) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wireless power reception module 2405, fromflowing into a wired interface 1 (2401) (e.g., the wired interface 1(501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2422) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wireless power reception module 2405, to a wiredinterface 2 (2415) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2423) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be activated in order to supply the power, which is receivedthrough the wireless power reception module 2405, to a battery chargingpath.

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2424) (e.g., the switch 4(524) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wired interface 2405 (1501), from flowing into abattery discharging path.

According to an embodiment, the switch 5 (2425) (e.g., the switch 5(525)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wireless power reception module 2405, fromflowing into a wireless power transmission module 2417 (e.g., thewireless power transmission module 517).

According to an embodiment, the switch 6 (2426) (e.g., the switch 6(526)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of a battery2409 from being supplied to the wireless power transmission module 2417.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of an example of a process for charging anddischarging a battery by using wired power, according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In the following description, anelectronic device is assumed to be connected to an external power supplydevice through a DCP charging method.

Referring to FIG. 25, in operation 2501, the electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 101, 201, 400 or 500) may be connected to theexternal power supply device through a wired interface (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

In operation 2503, in response to the connection with the external powersupply device, the electronic device may determine whether to activate acharging module (e.g., the charging module 507). For example, theelectronic device 500 may activate the charging module 507 in order tocharge the battery 509. The charging module 507 may be deactivated whenthe battery 509 is completely (fully) charged.

In operation 2505, when the charging module is activated, the electronicdevice may charge the battery thereof and may supply power to anexternal device by using external power that is received through thewired connection. For example, the electronic device 500 may charge thebattery 509 by supplying external power, which is received from thewired interface 1 (501), to the battery 509 through the charging module507. The electronic device 500 may supply the external power receivedfrom the wired interface 1 (501) or the power of the battery 509 to theexternal device through at least one of the wired interface 2 (515) orthe wireless power transmission module 517. For example, when a wiredpower supply function is activated (turned on), the electronic device500 may supply the external power, which is received from the wiredinterface 1 (501), to the external device through the wired interface 2(515). In cases where a wireless power supply function is activated(turned on), the electronic device 500 may supply the power of thebattery 509 to the wireless power transmission module 517.

In operation 2509, when the charging module is deactivated, theelectronic device may supply power to the external device by using theexternal power that is received through the wired connection. Forexample, when a wired power supply function is activated (turned on),the electronic device 500 may supply the external power, which isreceived from the wired interface 1 (501), to the external devicethrough the wired interface 2 (515). In cases where a wireless powersupply function is activated (turned on), the electronic device 500 maysupply the power of the battery 509 to the wireless power transmissionmodule 517. For example, when wired power that exceeds the secondreference service power (e.g., 20 mA) is supplied through the wiredinterface 2 (515), the electronic device 500 may determine that thewired power supply function has been activated. In cases where theexternal device connects to the wireless power transmission module 517(e.g., a wireless charging pad), the electronic device 500 may determinethat the wireless power supply function has been activated. In operation2507, the electronic device may detect whether the battery charging andthe power supply to the external device using the external powerreceived through the wired connection have been completed.

In cases where the battery charging or the power supply to the externaldevice using the external power received through the wired connectionare not completed, the electronic device may detect whether the chargingmodule (e.g., the charging module 507) has been activated in operation2503.

FIG. 26 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 26, a current flow for performing the battery charging,the wired power supply, and the wireless power supply by using theexternal power received through the wired connection in operation 2505of FIG. 25 will be described.

Referring to FIG. 26, the electronic device 2600 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500), when being connected to an external power supply devicethrough a wired interface 1 (2601) (e.g., the wired interface 1 (501)),may control switches 2621 to 2624 to perform the battery charging andthe wired power supply.

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (2621) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be activated in order to supply external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (2601), to a battery chargingpath.

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2622) (e.g., the switch 2(522) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wired interface 1 (2601), to a wired interface 2(2615) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2623) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated (turned off) in order to prevent the externalpower, which is received through the wired interface 1 (2601), fromflowing into a battery charging path by a wireless power receptionmodule 2605 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2624) (e.g., the switch 4(524) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wired interface 1 (2601), from flowing into abattery discharging path.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device 2600 may further include a switch 5 (2625) (e.g., theswitch 5 (525)) that connects a battery 2609 (e.g., the battery 509) anda wireless power transmission module 2617 (e.g., the wireless powertransmission module 517). For example, when wireless power supply isperformed, the switch 5 (2625) may be activated in order to supply thepower of the battery 2609 to the wireless power transmission module2617.

FIG. 27 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. More particularly, FIG.27 illustrates a current flow for supplying power in a wired manner byusing the power of a battery in an electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 27, the electronic device 2700 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 2721 to 2724 in order to supply thepower of a battery 2709 (e.g., the battery 509) to at least one externaldevice that is connected thereto via a wired connection. For example,the electronic device 2700 may control switches 2721 to 2724 in order toactivate only the path between the battery 2709 and a wired interface 2(2715) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)). For example, when a wiredpower supply function is activated (turned on), the electronic device2700 may control the switches 2721 to 2724 to supply the power of thebattery 2709 to the wired interface 2 (2715). According to anembodiment, the switch 1 (2721) (e.g., the switch 1 (521)) may bedeactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery 2709 fromflowing into a wired interface 1 (2701) (e.g., the wired interface 1(501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2722) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2709, which is supplied to the wired interface 2 (2715), from flowinginto a battery charging path by the wired interface 1 (2701).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2723) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2709 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 2705 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2724) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 2709to the wired interface 2 (2715).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device 2700 may further include a switch 5 (2715) (e.g., theswitch 5 (525)) that connects the battery 2709 (e.g., the battery 509)and a wireless power transmission module 2717 (e.g., the wireless powertransmission module 517). For example, the switch 5 (2715) may bedeactivated during wired power supply in order to prevent the power ofthe battery 2709 from flowing into the wireless power transmissionmodule 2717.

FIG. 28 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 28, a current flow for supplying power wirelessly byusing the power of a battery in an electronic device will be described.

Referring to FIG. 28, the electronic device 2800 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 2821 to 2824 in order to supply thepower of a battery 2809 (e.g., the battery 509) to at least one externaldevice that is wirelessly connected thereto. For example, the electronicdevice 2800 may control switches 2821 to 2824 in order to activate onlythe path between the battery 2809 and a wireless power transmissionmodule 2817 (e.g., the wireless power transmission module 517).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (2821) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2809 from flowing into a wired interface 1 (2809) (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2822) (e.g., the switch 2(522) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2809 from flowing into a battery charging path by the wired interface 1(2801).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2823) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2809 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 2805 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2824) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2809 from being supplied to a wired interface 2 (2815).

FIG. 29 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. More particularly, FIG.29 illustrates a current flow for supplying power in a wireless/wiredmanner by using the power of a battery in an electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 29, the electronic device 2900 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 2921 to 2924 in order to supply thepower of a battery 2909 (e.g., the battery 509) to at least one externaldevice that is connected thereto in a wired/wireless manner. Forexample, the electronic device 2900 may control the switches 2921 to2924 to activate a path between the battery 2909 and a wired interface 2(2915) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)) and a path between thebattery 2909 and a wireless power transmission module 2917 (e.g., thewireless power transmission module 517).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (2921) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2909 from flowing into a wired interface 1 (2901) (e.g., the wiredinterface 1 (501)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (2922) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2909, which is supplied to the wired interface 2 (2915) (e.g., the wiredinterface 2 (515)), from flowing into a battery charging path by thewired interface 1 (2901).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (2923) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the power of the battery2909 from flowing into a battery charging path by a wireless powerreception module 2905 (e.g., the wireless power reception module 505).

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (2924) (e.g., the switch 4(524)) may be activated in order to supply the power of the battery 2909to the wired interface 2 (2915).

FIG. 30 is a diagram of an example of an electronic device, according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. In the discussion withrespect to FIG. 30, a current flow for performing battery charging andwireless power supply by using external power received through awireless connection will be described.

Referring to FIG. 30, the electronic device 3000 (e.g., the electronicdevice 500) may control switches 3021 to 3024 to perform batterycharging and wired power supply by using external power that is receivedthrough a wireless power reception module 3005 (e.g., the wireless powerreception module 505). For example, the electronic device 3000 maycontrol the switches 3021 to 3024 to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wireless power reception module 3005, fromflowing into a wired interface 1 (3001) (e.g., the wired interface 1(501)) and a wireless power transmission module 3017 (e.g., the wirelesspower transmission module 517).

According to an embodiment, the switch 1 (3021) (e.g., the switch 1(521)) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wireless power reception module 3005, fromflowing into the wired interface 1 (3001).

According to an embodiment, the switch 2 (3022) (e.g., the switch 2(522)) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wireless power reception module 3005, to a wiredinterface 2 (3015) (e.g., the wired interface 2 (515)).

According to an embodiment, the switch 3 (3023) (e.g., the switch 3(523)) may be activated in order to supply the external power, which isreceived through the wireless power reception module 3005, to a batterycharging path.

According to an embodiment, the switch 4 (3024) (e.g., the switch 4(524) may be deactivated in order to prevent the external power, whichis received through the wireless power reception module 3005, fromflowing into a battery discharging path.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, theelectronic device 3000 may further include a switch 5 that connects thebattery 3009 (e.g., the battery 509) and the wireless power transmissionmodule 3017. For example, the switch 5 may be deactivated during wiredpower supply in order to prevent the power of the battery 3009 fromflowing into the wireless power transmission module 3017.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating an electronic device may include: receiving power from a firstexternal device in a wireless manner; charging at least some of theplurality of cells in the battery of the electronic device by using thepower; changing a first voltage, which is generated by a seriesconnection between at least two of the plurality of cells in thebattery, into a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage; andtransmitting power based on the second voltage to a second externaldevice in a wireless manner.

According to various embodiments, the transmitting of the power to thesecond external device may include: receiving a first signal from thesecond external device; and transmitting the power based on the secondvoltage to the second external device at least partially based on thefirst signal.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includedisplaying at least one of the charging state of the battery and thecharging state of a battery of the second external device.

According to various embodiments, the charging of the at least some ofthe plurality of cells in the battery may include charging at least twoof the plurality of cells in the battery, which are connected inparallel, by using the wirelessly received power.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include:receiving power from a third external device in a wired manner; chargingat least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by using thewiredly received power; changing a third voltage, which is generated bya series connection between at least two of the plurality of cells inthe battery, into a fourth voltage that is lower than the third voltage;and transmitting power based on the fourth voltage to a fourth externaldevice in a wired manner.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting, to the fourth external device, at least some of thewiredly received power or the wirelessly received power.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting at least some of the wiredly received power to the secondexternal device.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includeshutting off the power transmitted to the second or fourth externaldevice to prevent the power from flowing into the first external deviceand the third external device.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating an electronic device may include: receiving power from a firstexternal device in a wireless manner; charging at least some of theplurality of cells in the battery of the electronic device by using thepower; selectively connecting at least two of the plurality of cells inthe battery in series; and transmitting power based on a first voltage,which is generated by the cells that are selectively connected inseries, to a second external device in a wireless manner.

According to various embodiments, the transmitting of the power to thesecond external device may include: receiving a first signal from thesecond external device; and transmitting the power based on the firstvoltage to the second external device at least partially based on thefirst signal.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includedisplaying at least one of the charging state of the battery and thecharging state of a battery of the second external device.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include:receiving power from a third external device in a wired manner; chargingat least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by using thewiredly received power; selectively connecting at least two of theplurality of cells in the battery in series; and transmitting powerbased on a second voltage, which is generated by the cells that areselectively connected in series, to a fourth external device in a wiredmanner.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting, to the fourth external device, at least some of thewiredly received power or the wirelessly received power.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting at least some of the wiredly received power to the secondexternal device.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includeshutting off the power transmitted to the second or fourth externaldevice to prevent the power from flowing into the first external deviceand the third external device.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating an electronic device may include: receiving first power from afirst external device in a wired or wireless manner; separating thefirst power into second power and third power; charging a battery of theelectronic device by using the second power; and transmitting the thirdpower to a second external device, wherein the separating may includedetermining a first amount of power, which is to be separated as thesecond power, among the first power and a second amount of power, whichis to be separated as the third power, based on the result obtained bycomparing a first charging variable for charging the battery and asecond charging variable for charging a battery of the second externaldevice.

According to various embodiments, the first charging variable mayinclude at least one of the residual quantity of the first battery, acharging completion time of the first battery, and the capacity (thewhole capacity) of the first battery, and the second charging variablemay include at least one of the residual quantity of the second battery,a charging completion time of the second battery, information on theconnection with the second external device, information on the operatingstate of the second external device, and the capacity (the wholecapacity) of the second battery.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating an electronic device may include: receiving power from a firstexternal device in a wired or wireless manner; charging at least some ofa plurality of cells in a battery of the electronic device by using thepower; generating a voltage by a series connection between at least twoof the plurality of cells in the battery; and transmitting power basedon the voltage, which is generated by the cells connected in series, toa second external device in a wired and/or wireless manner.

According to various embodiments, the method may further includetransmitting at least some of the wiredly or wirelessly received powerto the second external device in a wired and/or wireless manner.

The electronic devices and the operating methods thereof, according tothe various embodiments of the present disclosure, can charge a batteryand supply power to an external device through wireless charging, andcan receive external power or supply the power of a battery to anexternal device without a separate wired connection, thereby enhancingportability of the electronic devices.

The electronic devices and the operating methods, according to thevarious embodiments of the present disclosure, can support charging anddischarging in a wired/wireless manner, thereby charging a batterythereof and supplying power to an external device at the same time.

The electronic devices and the operating methods thereof, according tothe various embodiments of the present disclosure, can connect aplurality of battery cells in series when supplying power to anotherelectronic device, thereby restricting the use of an additional circuit(module) (e.g., a booster) for increasing a voltage.

The electronic devices and the operating methods thereof, according tothe various embodiments of the present disclosure, can adjust amounts ofcharge of multiple external devices when supplying power to the externaldevices, thereby efficiently using a limited battery resource.

The term “module” as used herein may, for example, mean a unit includingone of hardware, software, and firmware or a combination of two or moreof them. The “module” may be interchangeably used with, for example, theterm “unit”, “logic”, “logical block”, “component”, or “circuit”. The“module” may be a minimum unit of an integrated component element or apart thereof. The “module” may be a minimum unit for performing one ormore functions or a part thereof. The “module” may be mechanically orelectronically implemented. For example, the “module” according to thepresent disclosure may include at least one of an Application-SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) chip, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA),and a programmable-logic device for performing operations which has beenknown or are to be developed hereinafter.

According to various embodiments, at least some of the devices (forexample, modules or functions thereof) or the method (for example,operations) according to the present disclosure may be implemented by acommand stored in a computer-readable storage medium in a programmingmodule form. When an instruction is implemented by one or moreprocessors (for example, the processor 120), one or more processors mayexecute a function corresponding to the instruction. Thecomputer-readable storage medium may be, for example, the memory 130.

Any of the modules or programming modules according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of theabove-described elements, exclude some of the elements, or furtherinclude other additional elements. The operations performed by themodules, programming module, or other elements according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in a sequential,parallel, repetitive, or heuristic manner. Further, some operations maybe executed according to another order or may be omitted, or otheroperations may be added.

FIGS. 1-30 are provided as an example only. At least some of theoperations discussed with respect to these figures can be performedconcurrently, performed in different order, and/or altogether omitted.It will be understood that the provision of the examples describedherein, as well as clauses phrased as “such as,” “e.g.”, “including”,“in some aspects,” “in some implementations,” and the like should not beinterpreted as limiting the claimed subject matter to the specificexamples.

The above-described aspects of the present disclosure can be implementedin hardware, firmware or via the execution of software or computer codethat can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DigitalVersatile Disc (DVD), a magnetic tape, a RAM, a floppy disk, a harddisk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloaded over anetwork originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine-readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedvia such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc.

that may store or receive software or computer code that when accessedand executed by the computer, processor or hardware implement theprocessing methods described herein. In addition, it would be recognizedthat when a general purpose computer accesses code for implementing theprocessing shown herein, the execution of the code transforms thegeneral purpose computer into a special purpose computer for executingthe processing shown herein. Any of the functions and steps provided inthe Figures may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination ofboth and may be performed in whole or in part within the programmedinstructions of a computer. No claim element herein is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for”.

Moreover, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are suggestedfor the description and understanding of technical content but do notlimit the range of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the range of thepresent disclosure should be interpreted as including all modificationsor various other embodiments based on the technical idea of the presentdisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a housing; abattery that is mounted in the housing and includes a plurality of cellsthat are connected in series; a circuit electrically connected to thebattery; and a conductive pattern electrically connected to the circuitin the interior of the housing, wherein the circuit is configured to:receive power from a first external device by using the conductivepattern, charge at least some of the plurality of cells in the batteryby using the received power, change a first voltage, which is generatedby a series connection between at least two of the plurality of cells inthe battery, into a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage,and wirelessly transmit power corresponding to the second voltage to asecond external device by using the conductive pattern.
 2. Theelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising: at least one processorin the housing; a display that is exposed through at least one side ofthe housing and is connected to the processor; and a memory electricallyconnected to the processor, wherein the memory stores instructions that,when executed configure the processor to: receive a first signal fromthe second external device, and transmit the power corresponding to thesecond voltage to the second external device by using the circuit atleast partially based on the first signal.
 3. The electronic device ofclaim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured tocontrol the display to display an indication of at least one of acharging state of the battery and a charging state of a battery of thesecond external device.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thecircuit is configured to charge at least two of the plurality of cellsin the battery, which are connected in parallel, by using the receivedpower.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the circuit isconfigured to: receive power from a third external device over a wiredconnection between the electronic device and the third external device,charge at least some of the plurality of cells in the battery by usingthe power, change a third voltage, which is generated by a seriesconnection between at least two of the plurality of cells in thebattery, into a fourth voltage that is lower than the third voltage, andtransmit power corresponding to the fourth voltage to a fourth externaldevice over a wired connection between the electronic device and thefourth external device.
 6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein thecircuit is further configured to provide at least some of the wiredlyreceived power or the wirelessly received power to the fourth externaldevice.
 7. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the circuit isfurther configured to provide at least some of the wiredly receivedpower to the second external device, and prevent the wiredly receivedpower from flowing into the conductive pattern.
 8. The electronic deviceof claim 5, wherein the circuit is further configured to prevent thepower provided to the second or fourth external device from flowing intothe conductive pattern.
 9. An electronic device comprising: a housing; abattery that is mounted in the housing and includes a plurality of cellsthat are connected in series; and a circuit electrically connected tothe battery, wherein the circuit is configured to: receive power from afirst external device, the power being received over one of a wiredchannel and a wireless channel, charge at least some of the plurality ofcells in the battery by using the received power, generate a voltage bya series connection between at least two of the plurality of cells inthe battery, and transmit power corresponding to the generated voltageto a second external device over at least one of a wired channel and awireless channel.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein thecircuit is further configured to transmit at least some of the wiredlyreceived power or wirelessly received power to the second externaldevice over at least one of a wired channel and a wireless channel. 11.A method for use in an electronic device, comprising: receiving powerfrom a first external device, the received power being received over awireless channel; charging at least some of a plurality of cells in abattery of the electronic device by using the received power; changing afirst voltage, which is generated by a series connection between atleast two of the plurality of cells in the battery, into a secondvoltage that is lower than the first voltage; and wirelesslytransmitting power corresponding to the second voltage to a secondexternal device.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingreceiving a first signal from the second external device, wherein thepower corresponding to the second voltage is transmitted in response tothe first signal.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingdisplaying, on a display of the electronic device, an indication of atleast one of a charging state of the battery and a charging state of abattery of the second external device.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein the charging of the at least some of the plurality of cells inthe battery comprises: charging at least two of the plurality of cellsin the battery, which are connected in parallel, by using the receivedpower.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving powerfrom a third external device over a wired connection between theelectronic device and the third external device; charging at least someof the plurality of cells in the battery by the received power from thethird external device; changing a third voltage, which is generated by aseries connection between at least two of the plurality of cells in thebattery, into a fourth voltage that is lower than the third voltage; andtransmitting power corresponding to the fourth voltage to a fourthexternal device, the power corresponding to the fourth voltage beingtransmitted over a wired connection between the electronic device andthe fourth external device.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: transmitting, to the fourth external device, at least someof the wiredly received power or the wirelessly received power.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting at least some ofthe wiredly received power to the second external device.
 18. The methodof claim 15, further comprising shutting off the power transmitted tothe second or fourth external device to prevent the power from flowinginto the first external device and the third external device.